Fereshteh Froude

Founder and President of FMI (Froude Management Inc.)

Vancouver, BC

Website: www.froudegroups.com

Email: fereshteh@froudegroups.com

Fereshteh is a well-known construction executive and the owner of the FMI (“Froude Management Inc.”), a general contracting firm in Vancouver, BC. In her capacity, Fereshteh is responsible for all operations within the FMI company. Before becoming president and CEO, Fereshteh worked for PCL, Canada’s largest and most respected general contracting firm where she learned that the construction industry is not just about building. It is about leadership, diversity, passion, and innovation. With an Architectural and Engineering background, she led the most iconic and challenging projects for Canada’s largest construction company.

Fereshteh had several mentors who helped her understand the construction general contracting business, required systems and process, marketplace, private and public bidding, bonding, and insurance requirements including where she needed to be financially before starting FMI.

While leading Canada's most distinctive projects, she won several leadership awards and has been recognized as one of the top talent construction leaders who has successfully completed all projects on time and budget. Fereshteh has also been the chair of United Way and Diversity and Inclusions in Winnipeg, and Vancouver.

As a 14-year-old girl, Fereshteh watched her mom, one of the first or maybe the only female builders in the city of Tehran who magically found her way through the construction/real estate industry and had overcome many challenges in a male-dominated culture and business. Fereshteh’s passion for construction was set right then. “That’s how I ended up in the construction business,” she says. She started her journey in construction by working for consultants, subcontractors, and Canada’s leading general contractor in various roles.

In 2007, she moved to Canada and started a new life with the hope that one day her dream will come true in Canada, the land of opportunity. This transition was the most challenging change in her life which she overcame with the support of her husband, Ryan.

In 2015, with the encouragement she received from her husband, Mrs. Froude was able to pursue her dream of running her own construction general contracting business. “Ryan helped me to see the world of opportunities from a different perspective that there are no limits for me in construction, only the ones I set for myself,” she says. Her company started by providing project management services for private owners as she was still working for another firm. Then, she hired a small team of enthusiastic superintendents and project managers to do small general contracting works under her leadership.

As there are few women compared to men in the construction industry, Fereshteh was ambitious and worked hard to earn a good business reputation in the construction industry. She had faced many challenges in construction, but she had handled every situation with courage and determination. She never let any challenges come in her way and focused on the vision that she had in her mind. She has worked very hard and is proud that she completed all her projects on time and within budget.

She strongly supports diversity and inclusion. She has advocated for all genders, cultures, and people of color and believes in equality of all kinds. The women or men who struggle with mental health, language, and skin color need support to meet their highest potential. It is also crucial that companies have mentorship programs that support all genders in various positions. To do so, companies need to have a diverse executive team so that they can understand a working mom with kids, a single father who struggles to spend more time with his kids, a new immigrant who moved to Canada to have a successful career but needs sometimes to adopt, and people who can’t tell us what they are going through in their personal life. She believes that the quality of the work is not dependent on the hours of the work her team put in. It is about passion, caring, and leadership. She also believes that early education is essential so that people become inclusive when they grow up. She also has a mentorship program at her company where she provides mentorship to anyone interested in making a change in their career and lives.

Just find what you are good at, find a good mentor, pursue your dreams, and don’t give up. There are challenges, and if there is someone in the workforce who doesn’t understand diversity and inclusion, don’t let that individual change your dream or change what you are capable of doing. Just focus on your goal. If you truly believe who you are and find your purpose, you can achieve anything, and everything, because the challenges become so small compared to the rewarding results. You don’t need to change your ways of living, and you can be who you are and the best you can be. There are a lot of mentors out there; reach out to people, don’t be shy or scared of reaching out. People are so humble, and you will be surprised at how many people (Leaders) are willing to help.